Methods and apparatus for optimizing structural layout of multi-circuit laminated composite assembly

ABSTRACT

A laminated composite assembly includes a layer having a first conductor with a first side and a second side. A first electric insulator is disposed between the first side of the first conductor and a second conductor such that a difference between a voltage associated with the first conductor and a voltage associated with the second conductor defines a voltage stress therebetween. The first electric insulator providing a first degree of electrical isolation based on the voltage stress. A second electric insulator is disposed between the second side of the first conductor and a third conductor such that a difference between the voltage associated with the first conductor and a voltage associated with the third conductor defines a second voltage stress therebetween. The second electric insulator providing a second degree of electrical isolation based on the second voltage stress.

BACKGROUND

The embodiments described herein relate generally to laminated compositeassemblies containing electrical circuits and more particularly tomethods and apparatus for optimizing structural layout of multi-circuitprinted circuit boards.

Some known laminated composite assemblies (e.g., printed circuit boards)include multiple layers of selectively etched copper separated by asubstantially uniform core material and/or dielectric material. Theconductive layers of copper carry electrical current from, or inducedby, an electrical source to electronic devices in electricalcommunication with the conductive layers. For example, in someinstances, the conductive layers of a printed circuit board can receivea flow of electrical current from a power source such as a battery,inverter, or power outlet. Such printed circuit boards can receiveand/or transmit a flow of electrical current in a single phase.

In other instances, an electrical current can be induced on or along theconductive layers of a laminated composite assembly, such as, forexample, by permanent magnets included in an electromagnetic machine. Insome instances, the phase of the electrical current carried on theconductive layers of the laminated composite assembly can be variedbetween the layers. In such instances, the dielectric layers of thelaminated composite assembly are sufficiently thick to substantiallyprevent current from flowing between each conductive layer carrying adifferent voltage. However, in some instances, the dielectric thicknesscan increase cost, weight, impedance, reluctance, or the like. Moreover,the thickness of the dielectric layers can increase the overallthickness of the laminated composite assembly beyond the limitations ofavailable space.

In some instances, it is desirable to electrically connect more than oneconductor of a laminated composite assembly. In some instances, externalconnections (e.g., bus bars) are often coupled to the conductors of thelaminated circuit boards. In such embodiments, the externalinterconnections can increase the cost, complexity, weight, etc. of thelaminated composite assembly and/or the electrical or electromagneticdevice within which they are disposed.

Thus, a need exists for improved methods and apparatus for optimizing astructural layout of a multi-circuit laminated composite assembly.

SUMMARY

In some embodiments, a laminated composite assembly includes a layerhaving a first conductor having a first side and a second side, oppositethe first side. A first electric insulator is disposed between the firstside of the first conductor and a second conductor such that adifference between a voltage associated with the first conductor and avoltage associated with the second conductor defines a voltage stressbetween the first conductor and the second conductor. The first electricinsulator provides a first degree of electrical isolation between thefirst conductor and the second conductor based on the voltage stressbetween the first conductor and the second conductor. A second electricinsulator is disposed between the second side of the first conductor anda third conductor such that a difference between the voltage associatedwith the first conductor and a voltage associated with the thirdconductor defines a voltage stress between the first conductor and thethird conductor. The second electric insulator provides a second degreeof electrical isolation between the first conductor and the thirdconductor based on the voltage stress between the first conductor andthe third conductor.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional illustration of a laminatedcomposite assembly according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of a laminated composite assemblyaccording to an embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional illustration of a laminatedcomposite assembly used, for example, in a machine structure accordingto an embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of a laminated composite assemblyaccording to an embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a schematic illustration of a multi-circuit laminatedcomposite assembly according to an embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the multi-circuit laminatedcomposite assembly taken along the line X-X in FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a schematic illustration of a first voltage and a secondvoltage associated with a common phase of the multi-circuit laminatedcomposite assembly of FIG. 5.

FIG. 8 is a schematic illustration of a first voltage associated with afirst phase and a second voltage associated with a second phase of themulti-circuit laminated composite assembly of FIG. 5.

FIG. 9 is a schematic illustration of a multi-circuit laminatedcomposite assembly according to an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In some embodiments, a laminated composite assembly includes a layerhaving a first conductor having a first side and a second side, oppositethe first side. A first electric insulator is disposed between the firstside of the first conductor and a second conductor such that adifference between a voltage associated with the first conductor and avoltage associated with the second conductor defines a voltage stressbetween the first conductor and the second conductor. The first electricinsulator provides a first degree of electrical isolation between thefirst conductor and the second conductor based on the voltage stressbetween the first conductor and the second conductor. A second electricinsulator is disposed between the second side of the first conductor anda third conductor such that a difference between the voltage associatedwith the first conductor and a voltage associated with the thirdconductor defines a voltage stress between the first conductor and thethird conductor. The second electric insulator provides a second degreeof electrical isolation between the first conductor and the thirdconductor based on the voltage stress between the first conductor andthe third conductor.

In some embodiments, a laminated composite assembly includes a first setof layers and a second set of layers. Each layer from the first set oflayers has a conductor associated with a first electrical circuit andeach layer from the second set of layers has a conductor associated witha second electrical circuit. The laminated composite assembly includes afirst electric insulator that provides a first degree of electricalisolation between the conductor of a first layer from the first set oflayers and the conductor of a second layer from the first set of layers.The laminated composite assembly includes a second electric insulatorthat provides a second degree of electrical isolation between theconductor of a third layer from the first set of layers and theconductor of a layer from the second set of layers. The second degree ofelectric isolation is different from the first degree of electricisolation.

In some embodiments, a first machine coil, being at least one electricalpath on a laminated composite assembly, and a second machine coil, beingat least one electrical path on the laminated composite assembly, areassociated with a phase of a multi-phase set of machine windings. Aninternal connection, being at least one electrical path on the laminatedcomposite assembly, electrically couples the first machine coil and thesecond machine coil.

In some instances, the embodiments described herein can be used inelectromagnetic machines and/or components such as those found in windpower generators or other suitable generators and/or motors. In suchinstances, the electromagnetic machines described can be various typesof permanent magnet machines, including axial flux machines, radial fluxmachines, transverse flux machines, and/or linear machines, in which onecomponent rotates about an axis or translates along an axis, either in asingle direction or in two directions (e.g., reciprocating, with respectto another component). Such electromagnetic machines typically includewindings to carry electric current through coils that interact with aflow of magnetic flux from one or more magnets through relative movementbetween the magnets and the windings. In a common industrial applicationarrangement (including the embodiments described herein), permanentmagnets are mounted for movement (e.g., on a rotor or otherwise movingpart) and the windings are mounted on a stationary part (e.g., on astator or the like).

As used in this specification, the term “voltage stress” refers to adifference in voltage between a first conductor and a second conductor.Thus, a smaller difference in voltage between a first conductor and asecond conductor is associated with a smaller voltage stress than avoltage stress associated with a larger difference in voltage betweenthe first conductor and a third conductor. Moreover, the voltage stress(e.g., the voltage difference) can be sufficiently large that electricalcurrent can flow and/or arc from one conductor (e.g., the conductorassociated with the higher voltage) to another conductor (e.g., theconductor associated with the lower voltage). Therefore, in an effort tominimize undesired current flow and/or arc, an insulating material canbe disposed between adjacent conductors.

As used herein, the term “dielectric strength” refers to a maximumelectric field strength per unit thickness that can be applied to adielectric or insulating material without the material substantiallybreaking down. Similarly stated, the dielectric strength of a materialrefers to the maximum strength of an electric field that can be appliedto the material without a failure of the insulating properties of thematerial, measured in volts per meter V/m or a fraction thereof (e.g.,kilovolts per millimeter (kV/mm), megavolts per millimeter (MV/mm),etc.). Dielectric strength is an intrinsic property, meaning thedielectric strength is inherent in a given material. However, externalfactors can alter a material's molecular and/or atomic structure andthus can alter the dielectric strength of the material. For example,operating temperature, sample thickness, and/or voltage frequency canalter the dielectric strength of a material. Therefore, the selection ofa dielectric material as an insulator can be based, at least partiallyon the dielectric strength of the dielectric material.

As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an” and “the” include pluralreferents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, forexample, the term “a coil” is intended to mean a single coil or acombination of coils, “a material” is intended to mean one or morematerials, or a combination thereof.

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional illustration of a laminatedcomposite assembly 110 according to an embodiment. As described indetail herein, the laminated composite assembly 110 can be used tosupport a portion of an electronic circuit. For example, at least aportion of the laminated composite assembly 110 (also referred to hereinas “assembly”) can form a portion of an integrated circuit (IC), aprinted circuit board (PCB), a PCB assembly, an application-specificintegrated circuit (ASIC), or any other suitable electronic circuitsupport structure. The assembly 110 can include any suitable number ofconducting layers that are separated by an electric insulator configuredto limit an electromagnetic interference between the conducting layers.

As shown in FIG. 1, the assembly 110 includes multiple layers ofconductors 120 that are separated by an electric insulator (e.g., anon-core dielectric layer 170 or a core 150). The core 150 can form abase that supports and/or separates a first layer of conductors 120(e.g., disposed on a first side of the core 150) from a second layer ofconductors (e.g., disposed on a second side of the core 150, oppositethe first side). The core 150 can be, for example, a dielectric materialthat can selectively isolate (e.g., selectively prevent and/or limitelectrical communication between) each of the one or more conductinglayers. In some embodiments, the core 150 can be a dielectric materialsuch as, for example, FR-4 or the like. In other embodiments, the core150 can be formed from any suitable insulating material(s) such as, forexample, fiberglass, cotton, or silicon and can be bound by any suitableresin material. In some embodiments, the non-core dielectric layer 170disposed between the conductors 120 can be formed from a material thatis substantially similar to, or the same as, the core 150. In someembodiments, the non-core dielectric layer 170 can be formed from amaterial (i.e., a pre-preg material) that can be heated to flow into thespace between conductors 120 and allowed to cool and/or cure to form asubstantially rigid (e.g., hardened) non-core dielectric layer 170.Therefore, in some embodiments, the assembly 110 can be a PCB includingmultiple conducting layers separated by electrically insulating layers(i.e., not necessarily formed from pre-manufactured, independent, orotherwise pre-defined PCBs). In other embodiments, the non-coredielectric layer 170 can be a different insulating material than thecore 150. In some embodiments, the non-core dielectric layer 170 and/orthe core 150 of the assembly 110 can be varied. For example, a firstinsulating layer can be formed from a first dielectric material and asecond insulating layer can be formed from a second dielectric material,as described in further detail herein.

The conductors 120 can be, for example, conductive traces etched from aconductive sheet laminated to the core 150. More specifically, aconductive sheet on one or more outer surfaces of a core 150 can bemasked and the undesired portions of the conductive sheet can be etchedaway, thereby leaving the desired conductive traces. The conductors 120can be any suitable material such as, for example, copper, silver,aluminum, gold, zinc, tin, tungsten, graphite, conductive polymer,and/or any other suitable conductive material. In this manner, theconductors 120 can carry a current (e.g., associated with powerdistribution, a signal carrying information and/or induced by a magneticsource) along a length of the conductors 120. In some embodiments, theconductors 120 can be shielding conductors (e.g., electrically coupledto an electric ground).

As described in further detail herein, one of the conductors 120disposed on a first layer of the assembly 110 can be placed inelectrical communication with one of the conductors 120 disposed on asecond layer of the assembly 110 by any suitable electrical interconnect(not shown in FIG. 1). For example, in some embodiments, a firstconductive layer can be placed in electrical communication with a secondconductive layer by one or more electrical interconnects (e.g., vias orholes defined by the assembly 110 and/or a PCB having a conductiveportion such as an annulus) such as those described in U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/778,415, filed on Feb. 27, 2013 and entitled“Methods and Apparatus for Optimizing Electrical Interconnects onLaminated Composite Assemblies,” the disclosure of which is incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety. In such embodiments, the electricalinterconnects can be blind vias, through hole vias, buried vias, and/orthe like In some embodiments, conductors 120 disposed on a layer of theassembly 110 can be placed in electrical communication by one or moreinternal connections (e.g., internal bus bars such as, for example, oneor more conductive traces, electrical couplers, and/or pads).

In some embodiments, a first conductive layer can be a first machinecoil (e.g., a conductor 120 arranged in a coil of non-intersectingelectrical paths or traces) and a second conductive layer can be asecond machine coil. In such embodiments, the assembly 110 can beincluded in, for example, a segmented stator assembly of anelectromagnetic machine such as a generator or motor. Thus, a rotorhaving one or more magnets (e.g., permanent magnets) can be movedrelative to the stator to induce an electric field (i.e., a voltage) inor on the first machine coil and/or the second machine coil. In someembodiments, the first machine coil can be placed in electricalcommunication with the second machine coil by an internal bus bar, anend turn (not shown in FIG. 1) and/or one or more vias. In someembodiments, the internal bus bar and/or the end turn can be disposed ona third layer of the assembly 110, different from the first layer andthe second layer. In other embodiments, the internal bus bar and/or theend turn can be disposed on the first layer or the second layer. Instill other embodiments, the internal bus bar can be disposed on thethird layer and the end turn can be disposed on a fourth layer.

In some embodiments, a voltage associated with the conductors 120 can bevaried between conductive layers. For example, in some embodiments, afirst conductor 120 disposed on a first layer of the assembly 110 canhave a first voltage and a second conductor 120 disposed on a secondlayer of the assembly 110 can have a second voltage, different from thefirst voltage. In such embodiments, the difference in voltage betweenthe conductor 120 of the first layer and the conductor 120 of the secondlayer can define a voltage stress (defined above) between the conductor120 of the first layer and the conductor 120 of the second layer. Forexample, in some instances, a larger difference in voltage between afirst conductor 120 and a second conductor 120 can be associated with alarger voltage stress than a smaller difference in voltage between athird conductor 120 and a fourth conductor 120 (or other combination ofconductors, for example, the first conductor 120 and the third conductor120).

Accordingly, a degree of electrical isolation provided or defined by theelectric insulators (e.g., the dielectric layer 170 and/or core 150) canbe based, at least partially, on the designed or expected voltage stressbetween adjacent conductors 120. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, thenon-core dielectric layer 170 having a first thickness T₁ is disposedbetween a first conductor 120 (e.g., second from the top in FIG. 1) anda second conductor 120 (e.g., third from the top in FIG. 1) that areassociated with a first voltage stress while the non-core dielectriclayer 170 having a second thickness T₂, greater than the first thicknessT₁, is disposed between a third conductor 120 (e.g., fourth from the topin FIG. 1) and a fourth conductor 120 (e.g., fifth from the top inFIG. 1) that are associated with a second voltage stress, greater thanthe first voltage stress. Thus, when the non-core dielectric layers 170are formed from the same material, the thickness T₂ of the non-coredielectric layer 170 provides a degree of electrical insulationsufficiently large to substantially electrically isolate the thirdconductor 120 from the fourth conductor 120.

Although the non-core dielectric layers 170 are shown in FIG. 1 asvarying in thickness (e.g., T₁ and T₂), in other embodiments, theassembly 110 can include non-core dielectric layers of substantiallyequal thickness. For example, in some embodiments, the non-coredielectric layers 170 can have a substantially similar thickness whilevarying the dielectric strength (defined above) of the dielectricmaterial. Similarly stated, the dielectric material forming the non-coredielectric layers 170 of the assembly 110 can be varied such that adegree of electric insulation associated with the dielectric materialsubstantially corresponds to a voltage stress between a conductor 120disposed on a first side of the non-core dielectric layer 170 and aconductor 120 disposed on a second side of the non-core dielectric layer170. For example, in some embodiments, a first non-core dielectric layercan be formed from FR-4, having a dielectric strength of about 20kilovolts per millimeter (kV/mm), and a second non-core dielectric layercan be formed from polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE or commonly known as“Teflon”), having a dielectric strength of about 60 megavolts permillimeter (MV/mm). In this manner, the non-core dielectric layer formedfrom FR-4 and the non-core dielectric layer formed from PTFE can have asimilar thickness, yet with varying dielectric strengths. Thus, by wayof example, the non-core dielectric layer formed from FR-4 can bedisposed between adjacent conductors defining a relatively smallervoltage stress, while the non-core dielectric layer formed from PTFE canbe disposed between adjacent conductors defining a relatively largervoltage stress.

In some instances, a voltage stress can be associated with a differencein electrical phases being carried on adjacent conductors 120. In suchinstances, the thickness T₁ and T₂ of the non-core dielectric layers 170can vary based, at least in part, on a difference in phases between theadjacent conductors 120. For example, in some instances, the assembly110 can be included in a multi-phase electromagnetic machine. In suchembodiments, the thickness of the non-core dielectric layer 170 disposedbetween adjacent conductors 120 carrying a current of the same phase canbe less than the thickness of the non-core dielectric layer 170 disposedbetween adjacent conductors 120 carrying a current of different phases.Expanding further, the sinusoidal waveform of a voltage associated witha given phase that is carried on a conductor is substantially alignedwith the sinusoidal waveform of a voltage associated with the phase thatis carried on an adjacent conductor. Thus, with the rise and fall of thevoltages being substantially aligned, the adjacent conductors can bedisposed at a relatively close distance. Conversely, the sinusoidalwaveform of a voltage associated with a first phase that is carried on afirst conductor is not aligned with the sinusoidal waveform of a voltageassociated with a second phase that is carried on a second conductor.Thus, the rise and fall of the voltages are not aligned and the firstconductor and the second conductor are spaced a relatively largerdistance than those voltages associated with similar phases. While thethickness of the non-core dielectric layer 170 is described as beingvariable, in some embodiments, the thickness of the core 150 can bevaried (in addition to or instead of the non-core dielectric layer 170)based, at least in part, on a voltage stress defined between adjacentconductors 120.

FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of a laminated composite assembly 210according to an embodiment. The laminated composite assembly 210 (alsoreferred to herein as “assembly”) can be included in an electromagneticmachine such as, for example, a generator or a motor. The assembly 210includes a first machine coil 220A, a second machine coil 220B, aninternal connection 240, a first terminal connection 250A, and a secondterminal connection 250B. While not shown in FIG. 2, the assembly 210can be formed from any number of conducting layers that are separated bya corresponding number of electrical insulating layers (e.g., non-coredielectric layers, cores, or pre-preg layers). The electrical insulatinglayers can be any suitable configuration. For example, the electricalinsulating layers can be substantially similar to or the same as thenon-core dielectric layers 170 and/or the cores 150, described abovewith reference to FIG. 1. Thus, the electrical insulating layers canprovide a base for the conducting layers of the assembly 210 as well asprovide a degree of electrical isolation between adjacent conductinglayers.

The first machine coil 220A and the second machine coil 220B can be, forexample, conductive traces etched from a conducting sheet of theassembly 210 (as described above). In some embodiments, the firstmachine coil 220A and the second machine coil 220B can be disposed onone or more layers of the assembly 210 and each can be arranged in coilsof nonintersecting electrical paths or traces. In such embodiments, afirst end portion of the first machine coil 220A can be electricallycoupled to the first terminal connection 250A and a second end portionof the first machine coil 220A can be electrically coupled to theinternal connection 240. Similarly, a first end portion of the secondmachine coil 220B can be electrically coupled to the internal connection240 and a second end portion of the second machine coil 220B can beelectrically coupled to the second terminal connection 250B.

The internal connection 240 can be any suitable configuration. Forexample, in some embodiments, the internal connection 240 can be aninternal bus bar formed from one or more conductive traces. In suchembodiments, the end portions of the internal connection 240 can beelectrically coupled to one or more electrical pads configured to becoupled to the first machine coil 220A or the second machine coil 220B(as described above). The first terminal connection 250A and the secondterminal connection 250B can be, for example, conductive tracesconfigured to be coupled to the first machine coil 220A or the secondmachine coil 220B and further coupled to an external electricalconnector (e.g., a connection device or portion of an electromagneticmachine). More specifically, in some embodiments, the first terminalconnection 250A can be associated with, for example, a positive phasesector and the second terminal connection 250B can be associated with,for example, a negative phase sector. In some embodiments, the firstterminal connection 250A and the second terminal connection 250B can beassociated with a power distribution conductor.

Although the first machine coil 220A, the second machine coil 220B, theinternal connection 240, the first terminal connection 250A, and thesecond terminal connection 250B are shown as being disposed on the samelayer, in other embodiments, the conducting portions of the assembly 210can be arranged in any suitable configuration. For example, while thefirst machine coil 220A and the second machine coil 220B are describedabove as being disposed on the same layer, in other embodiments, thefirst machine coil 220A and the second machine coil 220B can be disposedon different layers. Moreover, the internal connection 240, the firstterminal connection 250A, and the second terminal connection 250B can bedisposed on any suitable layer. For example, in some embodiments, thefirst machine coil 220A can be disposed on a first layer, the internalconnection 240 can be disposed on a second layer, and the first terminalconnection 250A can be disposed on a third layer. In such embodiments,the assembly 210 can include a set of vias (not shown in FIG. 2) thatelectrically connect the first layer, the second layer, and the thirdlayer. In a similar manner, the end portions of the second machine coil220B can be electrically coupled to a set of vias to be placed inelectrical communication with the electric interconnect 240 and/or theterminal connection 250B. In some embodiments, the first terminalconnection 250A and the second terminal connection 250B can be disposedon the same layer to form, for example, a power distribution layer thatcan distribute a voltage and/or current carried on the first machinecoil 220A and/or the second machine coil 220B, as described in furtherdetail herein.

In some embodiments, portions of the first machine coil 220A and/orportions of the second machine coil 220B can be disposed on multiplelayers. Similarly stated, an assembly 210 can include any number oflayers that each include a portion of the machine coils 220A and/or220B. For example, in some embodiments, a first portion of the firstmachine coil 220A (e.g., an operative portion or side portions) can bedisposed on a first layer and a second portion of the first machine coil220A (e.g., an end turn portion and/or a connection portion) can bedisposed on a second layer. In such embodiments, the layers of themachine coils 220A and/or 220B can be electrically coupled by vias. Insome embodiments, the layers of the first machine coil 220A can includea single layer with, for example, end turns that would otherwise overlapthe internal connection 240, the first terminal connection 250A, and/orother portions of the first machine coil 220A. Thus, by includingmultiple layers of the first machine coil 220A and/or the second machinecoil 220B, the current density of the assembly 210 can be increased.Moreover, with the internal connection 240 and the terminal connections250A and 250B included on a layer (e.g., at least partially asconductive traces) of the assembly 210, external electrical connectionscan be reduced, thereby saving cost, weight, space, or the like.

Any of the embodiments described herein can be included in anelectromagnetic machine such as, for example, a generator. For example,FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional illustration of a machine structure 300according to an embodiment. The machine structure 300 can be disposed inan electromagnetic machine, such as, for example, an axial flux, radialflux, or transverse flux machine. In some embodiments, the machinestructure 300 can be included in a wind turbine or the like.

The machine structure 300 includes a housing 301, a rotor assembly 302,and an annular stator assembly 305. The housing 301 substantiallyencloses the rotor assembly 302 and the stator assembly 305. The statorassembly 305 can be coupled to the housing 301 such that the statorassembly 305 remains in a substantially fixed position within thehousing 301. The stator assembly 305 can include or support, forexample, an air core type stator to support a set of conductivewindings. For example, the stator assembly 305 can include any number ofstator portions that can be substantially similar to stator portionsdescribed in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2011/0273048, thedisclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.Each stator portion can include at least one laminated compositeassembly (e.g., at least one PCB), such as, for example, those describedherein. In some embodiments, the laminated composite assemblies can besimilar to those described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,109,625, the disclosure ofwhich is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

The rotor assembly 302 can include multiple rotor elements or portionsthat can be coupled together to form the rotor assembly 302. Forexample, in some embodiments, the rotor assembly 302 can include rotorportions similar to those described in U.S. patent application Ser. Nos.13/568,791 and 13/152,164, the disclosures of which are incorporatedherein by reference in their entireties. The rotor assembly 302 iscoupled to a drive shaft 301 that is at least partially disposed withina set of bearings 306. Therefore, the drive shaft 304 can be rotatedrelative to the housing 301 (e.g., either directly or indirectly by amechanical force). Moreover, with the rotator assembly 302 coupled tothe drive shaft 304, the rotator assembly 302 is rotated with the driveshaft 304. Thus, the rotator assembly 302 can rotate relative to thestator assembly 305.

The rotor assembly 302 supports and/or is coupled to a set of magneticassemblies 303. In some embodiments, the magnetic assemblies 304 can besimilar to those described in U.S. patent application Ser. Nos.13/692,083, 13/437,639, and 13/438,062, the disclosures of which areincorporated herein by reference in their entireties. In this manner, asthe rotor assembly 302 is rotated relative to the stator assembly 305, amagnetic flux flows between the poles of the magnetic assemblies 303.Thus, an electric field is induced in or on the conductive windings ofthe stator assembly 305 (e.g., the conductive windings of the laminatedcomposite assemblies such as, for example, the machine coils 220A and220B described above with reference to FIG. 2) that when properlygathered and delivered allows the machine structure 300 to behave as agenerator or alternator. Conversely, an application of an electricalcurrent to the conductive material of the stator assembly 305 producesLorentz forces between the flowing current and the magnetic field of themagnetic assemblies 303. The resultant force is a torque that rotatesrotor assembly 302. Thus, the drive shaft 304 is rotated thereby doingwork. In this manner, the machine structure 300 can behave as a motor oractuator.

FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of a laminated composite assembly 410according to an embodiment. The laminated composite assembly 410 (alsoreferred to herein as “assembly”) can be included in an electromagneticmachine such as, for example, the machine structure 300 described abovewith reference to FIG. 3. The assembly 410 includes a first machine coil420A, a second machine coil 420B, an internal connection 440, a firstterminal connection 450A, and a second terminal connection 450B. Asshown, the assembly 410 can be formed from any number of layers 411.More specifically, the assembly 410 can be formed from any number ofconducting layers that are separated by a corresponding number ofelectrical insulators (e.g., insulating layers such as, non-coredielectric layers, cores, or pre-preg layers). The insulating layers canbe any suitable configuration. For example, the insulating layers can besubstantially similar to, or the same as, the non-core dielectric layers170 and/or the cores 150, described above with reference to FIG. 1.Thus, the insulating layers can provide a base for the conducting layersof the assembly 410 as well as provide a degree of electrical isolationbetween adjacent conducting layers.

As shown in FIG. 4, the first machine coil 420A and the second machinecoil 420B can be conductive traces etched from a conducting sheet of theassembly 410 (as described above). In some embodiments, the firstmachine coil 420A and the second machine coil 420B are disposed on afirst conducting layer of the assembly 410. In other embodiments, thefirst machine coil 420A can be disposed on the first conducting layerand the second machine coil 420B can be disposed on a second conductinglayer. The first machine coil 420A and the second machine coil 420B areeach arranged in nonintersecting coils of conductive traces. In someembodiments, the first machine coil 420A and/or the second machine coil420B can be substantially continuous and nonintersecting (e.g., acoiling conductive trace substantially disposed on the same layer). Inother embodiments, any number of portions of the first machine coil 420Aand/or any number of portions of the second machine coil 420B can bedisposed on varying layers 411 of the assembly 410 and in electricalcommunication by one or more vias (not shown in FIG. 4), as described infurther detail herein. The first machine coil 420A has a first endportion 421A that is electrically coupled to the first terminalconnection 450A and a second end portion 422A that is electricallycoupled to the internal connection 440. Similarly, the second machinecoil 420B has a first end portion 421B that is electrically coupled tothe internal connection 440 and a second end portion 422B that iselectrically coupled to the second terminal connection 450B. While shownin FIG. 4 as collapsing into a single conductive trace, any suitablenumber of conductive traces of the first machine coil 420A can beelectrically coupled to the first terminal connection 450A and/or theinternal connection 440. For example, in some embodiments the firstmachine coil 420A can include multiple parallel conductive tracessimilar to the first terminal connection 450A and/or the second terminalconnection 450B as described in further detail herein. Similarly anysuitable number of conductive traces of the second machine coil 420B canbe electrically coupled to the internal connection 440 and the secondterminal connection 450B.

The internal connection 440 can be any suitable configuration. Forexample, as shown in FIG. 4, the internal connection 440 is an internalbus bar formed from one or more conductive traces. The internalconnection 440 includes a first end portion 441 and a second end portion442 that include and/or are electrically coupled to one or more vias(and/or electrical pads). The second end portion 422A of the firstmachine coil 420A is electrically coupled to the one or more vias to beplaced in electrical communication with the first end portion 441 of theinternal connection 440. Similarly, the first end portion 421B of thesecond machine coil 420B is electrically coupled to the one or more viasto be placed in electrical communication with the second end portion 442of the internal connection 440. Thus, the first machine coil 420A isplaced in electrical communication with the second machine coil 420B. Asdescribed in further detail herein, with the first end portion 441 andthe second end portion 442 of the internal connection 440 coupled to theone or more vias, the internal connection 440 can be disposed on adifferent layer than the first machine coil 420A and/or the secondmachine coil 420B.

The first terminal connection 450A and the second terminal connection450B can be any suitable configuration. For example, as shown in FIG. 4,the first terminal connection 450A and the second terminal connection450B are conductive traces. The first terminal connection 450A includesa first end portion 451A and a second end portion 452A. The first endportion 451A of the first terminal trace 450A includes and/or is coupledto one or more vias (and/or electrical pads). Thus, the first endportion 421A of the first machine coil 420A is electrically coupled tothe one or more vias to be placed in electrical communication with thefirst end portion 451A of the first terminal connection 450A. The secondend portion 452A of the first terminal connection 450A includes and/orcan be electrically coupled to an external connector. In someembodiments, the first terminal connection 450A and/or the externalconnector coupled thereto can be associated with a positive phaseterminal. In this manner, the external connector can be electricallycoupled to any suitable positive phase electrical connector, therebyplacing the first machine coil 420A in electrical communication with anysuitable electrical device (e.g., an electromagnetic machine such as thegenerator structure 300 described above with reference to FIG. 3).

The second terminal connection 450B includes a first end portion 451Band a second end portion 452B. In a similar manner as described abovewith reference to the first terminal connector 450A, the first endportion 451A of the second terminal connection 450B is in electricalcommunication with the second end portion 422B of the second machinecoil 420B and the second end portion 452B of the second terminalconnection 450B includes and/or can be electrically coupled to anexternal connector. Moreover, the second terminal connection 450B and/orthe external connector coupled thereto are associated with a negativephase terminal and therefore, are electrically coupled to any suitablenegative phase electrical connector. Thus, the first machine coil 420Aand the second machine coil 420B are in electrical communication (e.g.,via the internal connection 440) and are collectively in electricalcommunication with another electrical portion of any suitable electricaldevice (e.g., a collector included in a generator structure).

As described above, the internal connection 440, the first terminalconnection 450A and the second terminal connection 450B can each be oneor more conductive traces. In some instances, the internal connection440, the first terminal connection 450A and/or the second terminalconnection 450B can be formed from more than one conductive tracesconfigured to reduce the formation of eddy currents associated withintersecting magnetic fields. As described above, while not shown inFIG. 4, the first machine coil 420A and/or the second machine coil 420Bcan also be formed from more than one conductive traces. Expandingfurther, by forming the internal connection 440, the first terminalconnection 450A and the second terminal connection 450B from multipleconductive traces, the width of each conductive trace can be reduced,thereby reducing the reducing the magnitude of eddy currents that wouldotherwise form on one conductive trace having a width substantially thesame as the combined width of the multiple conductive traces.

As described above, any portion of the first machine coil 420A, thesecond machine coil 420B, the internal connection 440, the firstterminal connection 450A, and the second terminal connector 450B can bedisposed on any suitable layer 411 of the assembly 410. For example, insome embodiment, the first machine coil 420A can be disposed on a firstlayer, the internal connection 440 can be disposed on a second layer,and the first terminal connection 450A can be disposed on a third layer.In such embodiments, the first machine coil 420A, the internalconnection 440, and the first terminal connection 450A are placed inelectrical communication by the vias (described above). In a similarmanner, the second machine coil 420B, the internal connection 440, andthe second terminal connection 450B can each be disposed on differentlayers and placed in electrical communication by the vias.

In some embodiments, portions of the first machine coil 420A and/orportions of the second machine coil 420B can be disposed on multiplelayers. For example, in some embodiments, one or more of the layers ofthe first machine coil 420A can include, for example, operative portions424A that extend between end turns 423A. In such embodiments, theoperative portions 424A can be electrically coupled to one anotherand/or to the end turn 423A portions of the first machine coil 420A byvias and/or other suitable electrical interconnect(s). In someembodiments, one or more of the layers can include the end turns 423Athat would otherwise intersect the internal connection 440, the firstterminal connection 450A, and/or other portions of the first machinecoil 420A. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the second end portion 422Aof the first machine coil 420A runs in a transverse direction across theend turn 423A. Therefore, in some embodiments, the end turns 423A can bedisposed on a different layer 411 of the assembly 410 than the secondend portion 422A. In a similar manner, the internal connection 440 canbe disposed on a different layer 411 of the assembly 410 than the secondend portion 422A of the first machine coil 420A and the first endportion 421B of the second machine coil 420B. Thus, the first machinecoil 420A, the second machine coil 420B, the internal connection 440,the first terminal connection 450A, and the second terminal connector450B can be disposed on various layers 411 of the assembly 410 to avoidintersections that would otherwise occur between the conductive traces.

With the internal connection 440 and the terminal connections 450A and450B included on a layer (e.g., at least partially as conductive traces)of the assembly 410, external electrical connections can be reduced,thereby saving cost, weight, space, complexity and/or the like.Moreover, in embodiments where the assembly 410 can be included in, forexample, an electromagnetic machine, the terminal connections 450A and450B can form a power distribution conductive layer that is configuredto distribute a voltage induced on or in the first machine coil 420Aand/or second machine coil 420B. Therefore, with the terminalconnections 450A and 450B including or being electrically coupled to anexternal connection, the assembly 410 can be substantially modular andthe terminal connections 450A and 450B can distribute a voltage inducedin the machine coils 420A and 420B to a portion of the electromagneticmachine (e.g., a collector and/or the like). For example, in someembodiments, multiple assemblies 410 can be arranged within anelectromagnetic machine to form a segmented stator. In such embodiments,one or more assemblies 410 can be removed, in the event of a failure,and replaced with a new assembly 410 without removing the functioningassemblies 410.

While the assembly 410 shows a first machine coil 420A and a secondmachine coil 420B that are in electrical communication to transmit aflow of current in a single phase, in other embodiments, an assembly caninclude any suitable number of machine coils that can be arranged totransmit a flow of current in multiple phases. For example, FIGS. 5 and6 illustrate a laminated composite assembly 510 according to anembodiment. The laminated composite assembly 510 (also referred toherein as “assembly”) can be included in an electromagnetic machine suchas, for example, the machine structure 300 described above withreference to FIG. 3. As shown, the assembly 510 can be formed from anynumber of layers 511. More specifically, the assembly 510 can be formedfrom any number of conducting layers that are separated by acorresponding number of electrical insulators (e.g., insulating layerssuch as, non-core dielectric layers, cores, and/or pre-preg layers). Theinsulating layers can be any suitable configuration. For example, asshown in FIG. 6, the conducting layers are separated by a core 550and/or a non-core dielectric layer 570A, 570B, or 570C. The core 550 andthe non-core dielectric layers 570A, 570B, and 570C can be substantiallysimilar to or the same as the core 150 and the non-core dielectric layer170, respectively, described above with reference to FIG. 1. Thus, thecores 550 and/or the non-core dielectric layers 570A, 570B, and 570C canprovide a base for the conducting layers of the assembly 510 as well asprovide a degree of electrical isolation between adjacent conductinglayers, as described in further detail herein.

As shown in FIG. 5, the assembly 510 includes a first set of conductors525 and a second set of conductors 535. The first set of conductors 525and the second set of conductors 535 are, for example, conductive tracesetched from a conducting sheet (e.g., a conducting layer) of theassembly 510 (as described in detail above with reference to FIG. 1). Asdescribed in further detail herein, the first set of conductors 525 isassociated with a first electrical phase A (also referred to herein as“first phase”) and the second set of conductors 535 is associated with asecond electrical phase B (also referred to herein as “second phase”).The first set of conductors 525 includes a first machine coil 520A, asecond machine coil 520B, first internal connection 540, a firstterminal connection 550A, and a second terminal connection 550B.Similarly, the second set of conductors 535 includes a third machinecoil 530A, a fourth machine coil 530B, a second internal connection 545,a third terminal connection 555A, and a fourth terminal connection 555B.In some embodiments, the second set of conductors 535 can besubstantially similar in form and function to the first set ofconductors 525 but shifted (e.g., phase shifted and/or physicallyshifted) relative to the assembly 510 to transmit the second phase B.Thus, the discussion of the first set of conductors 525 applies to thesecond set of conductors 535 unless explicitly described as beingdifferent. Moreover, the first machine coil 520A, the second machinecoil 520B, the first internal connection 540, the first terminalconnection 550A, and the second terminal connection 550B aresubstantially similar in form and function to the first machine coil420A, the second machine coil 420B, the first internal connection 440,the first terminal connection 450A, and the second terminal connection450B described with reference to FIG. 4. Thus, portions of the firstmachine coil 520A, the second machine coil 520B, the first internalconnection 540, the first terminal connection 550A, and the secondterminal connection 550B are not described in further detail below.

As shown in FIG. 5, the first machine coil 520A and the second machinecoil 520B can be substantially disposed on a first conducting layer ofthe assembly 510. In other embodiments, the first machine coil 520A canbe disposed on the first conducting layer and the second machine coil520B can be disposed on a second conducting layer. The first machinecoil 520A and the second machine coil 520B are each arranged innonintersecting coils of conductive traces (as described above). In someembodiments, any number of portions of the first machine coil 520Aand/or the second machine coil 520B can be disposed on varying layers511 of the assembly 510 and in electrical communication by one or morevias (not shown in FIG. 5). The first machine coil 520A has a first endportion that is electrically coupled to the first terminal connection550A and a second end portion that is electrically coupled to theinternal connection 540. Similarly, the second machine coil 520B has afirst end portion that is electrically coupled to the internalconnection 540 and a second end portion that is electrically coupled tothe second terminal connection 550B.

The internal connection 540 can be, for example, an internal bus barformed from one or more conductive traces. As described above, theinternal connection 540 is electrically coupled (either directly orindirectly by one or more vias) to the second end portion of the firstmachine coil 520A. Similarly, the first end portion of the secondmachine coil 520B is electrically coupled (either directly orindirectly) to the internal connection 540. Thus, the first machine coil520A is placed in electrical communication with the second machine coil520B. As described in further detail herein, in some embodiments, theinternal connection 540 can be indirectly coupled to the first machinecoil 520A and the second machine coil 520B by one or more vias. Thus,the internal connection 540 can be disposed on a different layer thanthe first machine coil 520A and/or the second machine coil 520B.

As shown in FIG. 5, the first terminal connection 550A and the secondterminal connection 550B are conductive traces disposed on, or etchedfrom, a conducting layer of the assembly 510. A first end portion of thefirst terminal connection 550A is electrically coupled (either directlyor indirectly by one or more vias) to the first end portion of the firstmachine coil 520A. A second end portion of the first terminal connection550A includes and/or can be electrically coupled to an externalconnector. In some embodiments, the first terminal connection 550Aand/or the external connector coupled thereto are associated with apositive terminal of the phase A. In this manner, the external connectorcan be electrically coupled to any suitable electrical connectorassociated with the positive terminal of the phase A, thereby placingthe first machine coil 520A in electrical communication with anysuitable electrical device (e.g., an electromagnetic machine such as thegenerator structure 300 described above with reference to FIG. 3).

Similarly, a first end portion of the second terminal connection 550B isin electrically coupled (either directly or indirectly by one or morevias) to the second end portion of the second machine coil 520B. Asecond end portion of the second terminal connection 550B includesand/or can be electrically coupled to an external connector. The secondterminal connection 550B and/or the external connector coupled theretocan be associated with a negative terminal of the phase A. In thismanner, the external connector can be electrically coupled to anysuitable electrical connector associated with the negative terminal ofthe phase A. Thus, the first machine coil 520A and the second machinecoil 520B are in electrical communication (e.g., via the first internalconnection 540) and are collectively in electrical communication withanother electrical portion included in any suitable electrical device(e.g., a collector of a generator structure) associated with the phaseA. In a similar manner, the third machine coil 530A and the fourthmachine coil 530B are in electrical communication (e.g., via the secondinternal connection 545) and are collectively in electricalcommunication with another electrical portion included in the electricaldevice that is associated with the phase B.

As described above, any portion of the first set of conductors 525and/or any portion of the second set of conductors 535 can be disposedon various layers of the assembly 510. For example, in some embodiment,the first machine coil 520A can be disposed on a first layer, theinternal connection 540 can be disposed on a second layer, and the firstterminal connection 550A can be disposed on a third layer. In suchembodiments, the first machine coil 520A, the internal connection 540,and the first terminal connection 550A are placed in electricalcommunication by the vias (described above). In a similar manner, thesecond machine coil 520B, the internal connection 540, and the secondterminal connection 550B can each be disposed on the first layer, thesecond layer, and the third layer, respectively, and placed inelectrical communication by the vias.

In some embodiments, the first machine coil 520A and/or the secondmachine coil 520B can be disposed on multiple layers. In someembodiments, one or more of the layers of the first machine coil 520Acan include, for example, end turns 523A that would otherwise overlapthe internal connection 540, the first terminal connection 550A, and/orother portions of the first machine coil 520A. For example, as shown inFIG. 5, the second end portion 522A of the first machine coil 520A runsin a transverse direction across the end turn 523A. Therefore, in someembodiments, the end turns 523A can be disposed on a different layer 511of the assembly 510 than the second end portion 522A. In a similarmanner, the internal connection 540 can be disposed on a different layer511 of the assembly 510 than the second end portion 522A of the firstmachine coil 520A and the first end portion 521B of the second machinecoil 520B. Thus, the first machine coil 520A, the second machine coil520B, the internal connection 540, the first terminal connection 550A,and the second terminal connector 550B can be disposed on various layers511 of the assembly 510 to avoid intersections that would otherwiseoccur between the conductive traces.

For example, as shown in FIG. 6, the first machine coil 520A and thesecond machine coil 520B can each be disposed on four conductive layersand separated by electrical insulators (e.g., the core 550 and/or thenon-core dielectric layer 570A). In some embodiments, the assembly 510can be comprised of a set of layers that include a first conductinglayer and a second conducting layer separated by the core 550. In suchembodiments, the set of layers can be stacked and laminated to form theassembly 510. In this manner, the core 550 and the non-core dielectriclayer 570A can be substantially similar in form and function.Accordingly, a degree of electrical isolation provided or defined by thecore 550 and/or the non-core dielectric layer 570A can be based, atleast partially, on a voltage stress (defined above) between adjacentconductors. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, the non-core dielectriclayer 570A has a thickness T₃ that is associated with a given voltagestress. Thus, the thickness T₃ of the non-core dielectric layer 570A issufficient to electrically isolate adjacent conductors. While not shown,the core 550 can have a substantially similar thickness T₃ sufficient toelectrically isolate adjacent conductors. While being described as beingsubstantially similar in form and function, in some embodiments, thecore 550 can form a base configured to support the conductive layerswhile the non-core dielectric layer 570A can be formed from a pre-pregmaterial that can be heated to flow between the conductive layers andallowed to cool and/or cure to form a substantially rigid (e.g.,hardened) non-core dielectric layer. In such embodiments, the core 550and the dielectric material 570A can be configured to provide a similardegree of electrical isolation.

Similarly, the third machine coil 530A and the fourth machine coil 530Bcan each be disposed on four conductive layers and separated by the core550 and/or the non-core dielectric layer 570B. Accordingly, a degree ofelectrical isolation provided or defined by the core 550 and/or thenon-core dielectric layer 570B can be based, at least partially, on avoltage stress (defined above) between adjacent conductors. For example,as shown in FIG. 6, the non-core dielectric layer 570B has a thicknessT₄ that is associated with a given voltage stress. Thus, the thicknessT₄ of the non-core dielectric layer 570B is sufficient to electricallyisolate adjacent conductors. While not shown, the core 550 can have asubstantially similar thickness as the thickness T₄. In someembodiments, the thickness T₃ of the non-core dielectric layer 570A andthickness T₄ of the non-core dielectric layer 570B can be substantiallysimilar. In other embodiments, the thickness T₃ of the non-coredielectric layer 570A can be thicker than the thickness T₄ of thenon-core dielectric layer 570B (or vice versa). With the first machinecoil 520A and the second machine coil 520B each associated with thephase A, the thickness T₃ of the non-core dielectric layer 570A (and/orthe thickness of the core 550) can be based on the possible voltagestress between the conductors. Similarly, with the third machine coil530A and the fourth machine coil 530B each associated with the phase B,the thickness T₄ of the non-core dielectric layer 570B (and/or thethickness of the core 550) can be based on the possible voltage stressbetween the conductors.

The assembly 510 includes the non-core dielectric layer 570C disposedbetween a conductor (e.g., 520A and/or 520B) associated with the phase Aand a conductor (e.g., 530A and/or 530B) associated with the phase B. Asshown, the thickness T₅ of the non-core dielectric layer 570C disposedbetween adjacent conductors having a voltage of different phases islarger than the thickness T₃ of the non-core dielectric layer 570Aand/or the thickness T₄ of the non-core dielectric layer 570B. Expandingfurther as shown in FIG. 7, the sinusoidal waveforms of the voltagescarried on adjacent conducting layers of the first machine coil 520A andassociated with the phase A are substantially aligned. Thus, in someinstances where the amplitude of the waveform is substantially constant,the voltages are substantially equal. Moreover, when associated with thesame phase (e.g., the phase A) the voltage stress between the adjacentconducting layers of the first machine coil 520A can be relatively smallas the change in voltages (e.g., due to alternating current) aresubstantially aligned. In this manner, the thickness T₃ of the non-coredielectric layer 570A can be relatively small.

Conversely, as shown in FIG. 8, the sinusoidal waveform of the voltagecarried on a conductive layer of the first machine coil 520A (i.e., aconductive layer associated with the phase A) and the sinusoidalwaveform of the voltage on a conducting layer of the third machine layer530A (i.e., a conducting layer associated with the phase B) are notaligned. When the conductive layer of the first machine coil 520A andthe conductive layer of the third machine coil 530A are associated withdifferent phases (e.g., phase A and phase B, respectively) the voltagestress between the adjacent conductive layers can be relatively large asthe change in voltages (e.g., due to alternating current) are notaligned. For example, in some instances, the conductive layer of thefirst machine coil 520A can carry a relatively large negative voltage ata give time while the conductive layer of the third machine coil 530A iscarrying a relatively large positive voltage at the given time. In thismanner, the voltage stress (i.e., a difference between instantaneousvoltages) between adjacent conductive layers carrying different phasescan be significantly larger than the voltage stress between adjacentconductive layers carrying a similar phase. Thus, the voltage on eachlayer is not substantially equal, and the thickness T₅ of the non-coredielectric layer 570C is larger than the thickness T₃ of the non-coredielectric layer 570A to maintain the desired electrical isolationbetween the layers 520A and 530A.

Although the first non-core dielectric layer 570A is described above ashaving the thickness T₃ and the third non-core dielectric layer 570C isdescribed as having the thickness T₅ that is a different that thethickness T₃, in other embodiments, the non-core dielectric layer 570Aand 570C can have a similar thickness while providing different degreesof electrical isolation. For example, in some embodiments, the firstnon-core dielectric layer 570A can be formed from a first dielectricmaterial having a first dielectric strength (e.g., FR-4 with adielectric strength of 20 kV/mm) and the third non-core dielectric layer570C can be formed from a second dielectric material having a seconddielectric strength that is greater than the first dielectric strength(e.g., PTFE with a dielectric strength of 60 MV/mm). In otherembodiments, a suitable degree of electrical isolation can be achievedby a combination of an increase in thickness of the non-core dielectriclayer and forming the non-core dielectric layer from a material having agreater dielectric strength. Thus, a balance of an increase in thicknessand an increase in dielectric strength can reduce the overall thicknessof the assembly 510 while reducing the cost of the assembly 510 thatwould otherwise be greater from the use exotic dielectric materials witha large dielectric strength.

The arrangement of the assembly 510 is such that in some embodiments,the assembly 510 can be disposed within a multi-phase electromagneticmachine. Furthermore, with the internal connections (540 and 545) andthe terminal connections (550A, 550B, 555A, and 555B) included on alayer (e.g., at least partially as conductive traces) of the assembly510, external electrical connections can be reduced, thereby savingcost, weight, space, and/or the like. The arrangement of the terminalconnections (550A, 550B, 555A, and 555B) is such that the assembly 510is substantially modular. For example, in some embodiments, multipleassemblies 510 can be arranged within an electromagnetic machine to forma segmented stator. In such embodiments, one or more assemblies 510 canbe removed, in the event of a failure, and replaced with a new assembly510 without removing the functioning assemblies 510.

Although the assembly 510 is described as being associated with thefirst phase A and the second phase B, in other embodiments, an assemblycan be associated with any suitable number of phases, such as, forexample, three, or more. In such embodiments, a set of conductorsassociated with each phase can be separated by a non-core dielectriclayer having a thickness that is larger than a thickness of a non-coredielectric layer disposed between adjacent conductors associated withthe same phase (as described in detail above with reference to FIGS.5-8). While the first phase A and the second phase B are shown as being180° out of phase, in some embodiments, the first phase A and the secondphase can be disposed at any suitable phase angle. For example, in someembodiments, an assembly can include conductive layers configured tocarry a voltage with a first phase, a second phase, and a third phase.In such embodiments, the first phase, the second phase, and the thirdphase can be disposed at 120° relative to one another.

Although the assembly 110 (FIG. 1), the assembly 410 (FIG. 4), and theassembly 510 (FIGS. 5 and 6) are shown as including a top layer and abottom layer including a conductor or conductive trace, in otherembodiments, an assembly can include a top layer and a bottom layerformed from an insulating material (e.g., a non-core dielectric layerand/or a core). For example, FIG. 9 is a schematic illustration of alaminated composite assembly 610 according to an embodiment. As shown,the laminated composite assembly 610 (also referred to herein as“assembly”) includes a set of conductors 620 that are each separated bya corresponding set of electrical insulators (e.g., insulating layerssuch as a non-core dielectric layer 670 and/or a core 650). Theconductors 620 can be, for example, a set of conductive traces such as,machine coils, internal connections, terminal connections, shieldingconductors, a signal carrying conductor, or the like). In this manner,the conductive layers 620 and the electrical insulating layers (e.g.,the non-core dielectric layers 670 and/or the core 650 can be stacked toform the laminated composite assembly 610.

In some embodiments, the assembly 610 is substantially similar in formand function to the assembly 510 described above with reference to FIGS.5-8. Thus, the assembly 610 is not described in further detail herein.The assembly 610 can differ from the assembly 510, however, by formingthe assembly 610 with outer non-core dielectric layer 670. In thismanner, the assembly 610 can be suitable for use within, for example, anelectromagnetic machine (such as the machine structure 300 shown anddescribed with reference to FIG. 3). For example, in some embodiments,the assembly 610 can form at least a portion of a stator and theelectromagnetic machine (not shown in FIG. 9) can include a clamp 680configured to retain the assembly 610 in a fixed position relative tothe electromagnetic machine. In such embodiments, the electricalinsulator (e.g., the dielectric layer 670) on the outer layers of theassembly 610 can electrically isolate the conductors 620 of the assembly610 from the clamp 680 that retains the relative position of theassembly 610. More specifically, in some embodiments, that the clamp 680(or other suitable fastener) can be formed from a conductive materialsuch as, for example, steel. Thus, the outer non-core dielectric layers670 can be configured to electrically isolate the conductive layers 620of the assembly 610 from the conductive clamp 680 and can be selectedbased on a voltage stress between a conductive layer 620 of the assembly610 and the clamp 680.

In some instances, a first end portion of the clamp 680 can carry afirst voltage and a second end portion of the clamp 680 can carry asecond voltage, different than the first voltage. In such embodiments,the thickness of the outer non-core dielectric layers 670 can be variedbased at least in part on the voltage stress between the clamp 680 andthe conductors 620 of the assembly 610. Expanding further, the first endportion of the clamp 680 and a first conductor 620 can define a firstvoltage stress and the degree of electrical isolation of the non-coredielectric layer 670 disposed therebetween (e.g., the thickness and/ordielectric strength) can be based at least in part on the first voltagestress. Similarly, the second end portion of the clamp 680 and a secondconductor 620 can define a second voltage stress, different from thefirst voltage stress, and the degree of electrical isolation of thenon-core dielectric layer 670 disposed therebetween (e.g., the thicknessand/or dielectric strength) can be based at least in part on the secondvoltage stress.

Although the assemblies 210, 410, and 510 are shown and described aboveas including machine coils that are in an electrically seriesconfiguration, in other embodiments, an assembly can include two or moremachine coils that are arranged in an electrically parallelconfiguration. In other embodiments, an assembly can include a set ofmachine coils that can include at least two machine coils in anelectrically series configuration and at least two machine coils in anelectrically parallel configuration.

While various embodiments have been described above, it should beunderstood that they have been presented by way of example only, and notlimitation, and as such, various changes in form and/or detail may bemade. Any portion of the apparatus and/or methods described herein maybe combined in any suitable combination, unless explicitly expressedotherwise. Where methods and/or schematics described above indicatecertain events occurring in certain order, the ordering of certainevents and/or flow patterns may be modified. Additionally, certainevents may be performed concurrently in parallel processes whenpossible, as well as performed sequentially.

Although various embodiments have been described as having particularfeatures and/or combinations of components, other embodiments arepossible having a combination of any features and/or components from anyof embodiments as discussed above.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus, comprising: a layer of a laminatedcomposite assembly, the layer having a first conductor, the firstconductor having a first side and a second side disposed opposite thefirst side; a first electric insulator disposed between the first sideof the first conductor and a second conductor electrically coupled tothe first conductor such that a voltage associated with the firstconductor is substantially equal to a voltage associated with the secondconductor, the first electric insulator providing a first degree ofelectrical isolation between the first conductor and the secondconductor, the first electric insulator being selected to achieve thefirst degree of electrical isolation based on a voltage stress betweenthe first conductor and the second conductor; and a second electricinsulator disposed between the second side of the first conductor and athird conductor electrically isolated within the laminated compositeassembly from the first conductor and the second conductor, the thirdconductor associated with a voltage substantially different than thevoltage associated with the first conductor such that a differencebetween the voltage associated with the first conductor and the voltageassociated with the third conductor defines a voltage stress between thefirst conductor and the third conductor, the second electric insulatorproviding a second degree of electrical isolation between the firstconductor and the third conductor, the second electric insulator beingselected to achieve the second degree of electrical isolation based onthe voltage stress between the first conductor and the third conductor,the second degree of electrical isolation being different than the firstdegree of electrical isolation.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein thefirst electric insulator has a first thickness, the second electricinsulator has a second thickness different from the first thickness, thefirst degree of electrical isolation being based at least in part on thefirst thickness, the second degree of electrical isolation being basedat least in part on the second thickness.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein the first electric insulator has a first dielectric strength,the second electric insulator has a second dielectric strength differentfrom the first dielectric strength, the first degree of electricalisolation being based at least in part on the first dielectric strength,the second degree of electrical isolation being based at least in parton the second dielectric strength.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1, whereinthe first conductor includes at least one of an end turn of a machinecoil, a power distribution conductor or an internal machine coilinterconnection.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the voltage stressbetween the first conductor and the third conductor is associated withan electrical phase-to-phase voltage of a multi-phase machine winding.6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first conductor is an internalbus bar that electrically couples a first machine coil having thevoltage associated with the first conductor with a second machine coilhaving the voltage associated with the first conductor.
 7. The apparatusof claim 1, wherein the first conductor includes a plurality ofnon-intersecting electrical paths.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1, whereinat least one of the second conductor and the third conductor are part ofa mechanical structure configured to substantially retain the laminatedcomposite assembly.
 9. An apparatus, comprising: a laminated compositeassembly having a first plurality of layers and a second plurality oflayers, each layer from the first plurality of layers having a conductorelectrically coupled to a conductor of each remaining layer from thefirst plurality of layers to define a first electrical circuit,associated with a first voltage, each layer from the second plurality oflayers having a conductor electrically coupled to a conductor of eachremaining layer from the second plurality of layers to define a secondelectrical circuit (1) electrically isolated within the laminatedcomposite assembly from the first electrical circuit and (2) associatedwith a second voltage different from the first voltage, the laminatedcomposite assembly having a first electric insulator that provides afirst degree of electrical isolation between the conductor of a firstlayer from the first plurality of layers and the conductor of a secondlayer from the first plurality of layers, the first degree of electricalisolation associated with the first voltage, the laminated compositeassembly having a second electric insulator that provides a seconddegree of electrical isolation, different from the first degree ofelectrical isolation, between the conductor of a third layer from thefirst plurality of layers and the conductor of a layer from the secondplurality of layers, the second degree of electrical isolationassociated with a difference between the first voltage and the secondvoltage.
 10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the first electricinsulator has a first thickness, the second electric insulator has asecond thickness different from the first thickness, the first degree ofelectrical isolation being based at least in part on the firstthickness, the second degree of electrical isolation being based atleast in part on the second thickness.
 11. The apparatus of claim 9,wherein the first electric insulator has a first dielectric strength,the second electric insulator has a second dielectric strength differentfrom the first dielectric strength, the first degree of electricalisolation being based at least in part on the first dielectric strength,the second degree of electrical isolation being based at least in parton the second dielectric strength.
 12. The apparatus of claim 9, whereinthe conductor of the first layer from the first plurality of layersincludes at least one of an end turn of a machine coil, a powerdistribution conductor or an internal machine coil interconnection. 13.The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the first electrical circuit and thesecond electrical circuit are associated with different phases of amulti-phase machine winding.
 14. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein thesecond thickness is greater than the first thickness.
 15. The apparatusof claim 9, wherein the conductor of the first layer from the firstplurality of layers is an internal bus bar that electrically couples afirst machine coil associated with the first electrical circuit with asecond machine coil associated with the first electrical circuit. 16.The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the conductor of the first layer fromthe first plurality of layers includes a plurality of non-intersectingelectrical traces.
 17. An apparatus, comprising: a first machine coilassociated with a first phase of a multi-phase set of machine windings,the first machine coil being at least one electrical path on a firstlayer of a laminated composite assembly; a second machine coilassociated with the first phase of the multi-phase set of machinewindings, the second machine coil being (1) at least one electrical pathon a second layer of the laminated composite assembly and (2)electrically connected to the first machine coil via an internalconnection such that the second machine coil is associated with avoltage substantially similar to a voltage associated with the firstmachine coil, the internal connection being at least one electrical pathon the laminated composite assembly; a third machine coil associatedwith a second phase of the multi-phase set of machine windings, thethird machine coil being (1) at least one electrical path on a thirdlayer of the laminated composite assembly and (2) electrically isolatedwithin the laminated composite assembly from the first machine coil andthe second machine coil, the third machine coil configured to beassociated with a voltage different from the voltage associated with thefirst machine coil; a first electric insulator disposed between thefirst layer and the second layer, the first electric insulator providinga first degree of electrical isolation based on a voltage stress betweenat least a portion of the first machine coil and at least a portion ofthe second machine coil; and a second electric insulator disposedbetween the second layer and the third layer of the laminated compositeassembly, the second electric insulator providing a second degree ofelectrical isolation based on a voltage stress between at least aportion of the second machine coil and at least a portion of the thirdmachine coil, the second degree of electrical isolation being differentfrom the first degree of electrical isolation, the laminated compositeassembly forming at least a portion of a segment included in a segmentedmachine.
 18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the internal connectionelectrically couples the first machine coil and the second machine coilin an electrically parallel configuration.
 19. The apparatus of claim17, wherein the internal connection is at least one of an electricaltrace on a layer of the laminated composite assembly or an electricalvia electrically coupling a plurality of layers of the laminatedcomposite assembly.
 20. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the internalconnection is arranged to electrically couple the first machine coil andthe second machine coil in an electrically series configuration.
 21. Theapparatus of claim 17, wherein the internal connection includes aplurality of parallel electrical paths.
 22. The apparatus of claim 17,wherein the internal connection is a first internal connection, theapparatus further comprising: a fourth machine coil configured to beassociated with the second phase of the multi-phase set of machinewindings, the fourth machine coil being (1) at least one electrical pathon a fourth layer of the laminated composite assembly and (2)electrically connected to the third machine winding via a secondinternal connection such that the fourth machine coil is configured tobe associated with a voltage substantially similar to the voltageassociated with the third machine coil, the second internal connectionbeing at least one electrical path on the laminated composite assembly.